Sponsor

Sponsor

Somali-American approved as new prime minister

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Somalia's parliament on Sunday
approved a Somali-American as the country's prime minister, but
some are already questioning whether he will be able to make a
difference in the war-ravaged country under attack from
al-Qaida-linked militants.

Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who has taught at a community college
in western New York, is now expected to name a Cabinet in the
coming weeks.

The Somali government currently controls only a small part of
the capital, Mogadishu. It has accomplished little since its
inception in 2004 and the country hasn't had a fully functioning
government in nearly two decades.

"Somalia is not America," Amina Nur, a mother of seven
children, told The Associated Press referring to Mohamed's time
spent in the U.S.

"Like many overseas Somalis that came from Western countries
after the collapse of the government in 1991 and are now
parliamentarians and government officials, he doesn't know the
difficult situation of the country and cannot lead an effective
Cabinet in the terms of the setting a comprehensive security plan
to combat al-Shabab and terrorists," Nur said.

Mohamed was nominated on Oct. 14 by President Sheik Sharif Sheik
Ahmed but the vote on the nomination was delayed several times
because of a disagreement between the president and the speaker
over procedure. The president wanted lawmakers to vote by a show of
hands, while the speaker preferred a secret ballot.

Lawmakers voted by a show of hands 297-92 on Sunday in favor of
Mohamed, said Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden, speaker of the transitional
parliament.

Mohamed worked in the Somali Embassy in Washington from 1985 to
1988, according to the government's website. He has taught conflict
resolution and leadership skills at Erie Community College in
western New York and has a master's degree in political science
from the State University of New York at Buffalo, according to his
resume.

Al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab and allied Islamic militants have been
trying for three years to overthrow the government. The militants
control much of the capital, Mogadishu, and southern Somalia.

A former governor of one of Somalia's southern regions, Qasim
Mohamed Nur, said the new prime minister may succeed where his
predecessors have failed because he does not carry any political
baggage and is from the country's south, where al-Shabab holds
sway.

"I think if he gets support of the Somali people and government
officials he would succeed to lead his cabinet on the best way to
liberate much of the southern regions from al-Qaida and al-Shabab
militias," he said.